Multi-purpose communications cabinet

ABSTRACT

A communications cabinet for use with copper/fiberoptic converters has electrical connections between power, copper and fiberoptic conductors and the converters preformed as conductive traces on a printed circuit board mountable in a housing. Electrical connections between power, copper and fiberoptic conductors passing through apertures in the housing and corresponding connections to the converters are made through a patch field formed of connectors mounted in the housing, each receiving terminal connectors on the conductors and converter terminations. Seal members are mounted in the housing adjacent apertures through one wall of the housing for sealingly encompassing the copper, fiberoptic and/or the power conductors passing through the apertures in the housing. The printed circuit board receives the converters in a plug-in mount without separate fasteners. An extension cabinet is fixed to the housing and receives power conductor and cables. A DC to AC converter in the extension cabinet supplies AC power to devices mounted in a rack formed in the extension cabinet.

CROSS REFERENCE TO CO-PENDING APPLICATION

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/329,675, filed Jun. 10, 1999, in the names of William W. Ehnand Todd Theisen and entitled “Multi-Purpose Communications Cabinet”,which claimed the benefit of the priority date of provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 60/089,254 filed Jun. 12, 1998.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates, in general, to communication equipment.

2. Description of the Art

Data and/or voice communication frequently employ an enclosure orcabinet mounted at a convenient location in a facility, such as amanufacturing plant, to provide interconnection between copperconductors and fiberoptic conductors.

FIGS. 1 and 2 depict a prior art communication cabinet which providesinterconnections between copper conductors and fiberoptic conductors.The cabinet 10 is a typical NEMA enclosure formed of a back wall 12,side walls 14, 16, 18 and 20, a front wall 22 in the form of a narrowflange surrounding an opening 24 to the interior of the cabinet 10, anda door 26 pivotally connected along the one side edge of the front wall22. A back plate 28 is mounted on the back wall 12 and provided amounting surface for various components.

A plurality of fiberoptic connectors 30, such as conventional SC or STtype fiberoptic connectors, are mounted on the side walls 16 with a jackportion 32 of each connector 30 projecting outwardly from the side wall16 for receiving a plug termination at one end of a fiberoptic cable,not shown. As is conventional, a typical fiberoptic cable includes 12individual fiberoptic conductors contained within a thick outer sheath.The sheath is cut back a considerable distance from the end to enableeach individual fiberoptic conductors to be attached to a plug forconnection to the respective jacks 32 on the side wall 16. This exposesa portion of the thinner, flexible fiberoptic conductors which made theconductors prone to damage or breakage when hit by external objects. Inaddition, the external mounting of the jack and fiberoptic conductorplug termination do not provide any strain relief thereby increasing thepossibility of the fiberoptic conductors breaking free of the respectivejacks if subjected to an external force.

A plurality of copper connectors 38 were also mounted on the cabinet 10,generally on the side wall 14. The copper conductor connectors 38 wereof typical construction, such as a RJ45 jack. Finally, a plurality oflight emitting diodes (LEDs) 40 are mounted on the side wall 14 toprovide an indication of the operative state of certain componentswithin the cabinet 10.

A 48 VDC power receptacle 42 is mounted on the side wall 16 forreceiving a plug connected to a 48 volt DC power supply. Internalconductors connect the receptacle 42 to a pair of power supplies 44mounted on the back plate 28. The power supplies 44 provide regulated 24VDC and 12 VDC power to circuit breakers connected to copper/fiberopticconverters and a radio, as described hereafter.

The circuit breakers 46 are mounted in a housing 48 on the back plate 28and individually connected to the 24 VDC and 12 VDC power supplies andto each copper/fiberoptic converter and the radio by individual wiresextending from each circuit breaker 46 through terminals 50 to the powerconnections of each converter 52 and the radio.

Individual conductors are wired from each fiberoptic connector 30 andeach copper connector 38 to the respective copper conductor andfiberoptic conductor connections on each converter 52. In addition,individual conductors are wired from each indicator or LED 40 to eachcomponent whose status was to be monitored, such as each circuit breaker46, each converter 52, each power supply 44; etc.

As is evident from FIG. 1, the communications cabinet 10 requires aconsiderable amount of individual wiring and terminations to connect thecircuit breakers 46 and the LEDs 40 to each component within the cabinetas well as to connect the power supplies 44 to the circuit breakers 46.This amount of wiring not only increased the manufacturing costs due tothe considerable length of time required to initially construct and wirethe cabinet 10, but the conductors are prone to faults which require aconsiderable amount of trouble shooting time to locate and correct. Inaddition, the converters 52 are individually hard wired to the circuitbreakers 46 via the terminals 50. All of these problems were in additionto the problems are described above with respect to the externalmounting of the individual copper and fiberoptic conductors to therespective copper and fiberoptic connectors.

Thus, it would be desirable to provide a communications cabinet orenclosure which overcomes the problems of previously devised,communications enclosures. It would be desirable to provide acommunications enclosure which has a considerable amount of pre-wiringconnections provided in a printed circuit board as well as providingplug-in connections between the power converters and the circuit boardto minimize the amount of individual wires and assembly time required toconstruct the communications cabinet.

SUMMARY

The present invention is a communications cabinet which providesconnections between fiberoptic conductors, copper conductors, andcopper/fiber converters.

According to one aspect of the invention, the communications cabinetincludes a housing having walls. A plurality of copper/fiberopticconverters are mounted in the housing. Sealable access means are alsomounted in the housing for sealingly enclosing the passage of fiberopticand copper conductors through at least one wall of the housing. In thisaspect, each of the sealable access means includes a pair of resilientmembers, each mounted on a bracket and facing the opposed resilientmember. The resilient members and brackets are movable relative to eachother between a first spaced apart position allowing passage of anelectrical conductor through an adjacent aperture in the housing wallinto the interior of the housing, and a second closed position whereinthe resilient members sealingly encompass substantially the entireperipheral surface of the conductor extending therethrough.

A clip may be mountable over the brackets when the brackets and theresilient members are in the second closed position to forcibly retainthe brackets and the resilient members in the closed position. Accordingto this aspect of the invention, the clip comprises a pair of clipsattachable to spaced portions of the brackets. In another aspect, theclip is in the form of an elongated, single member extending over asubstantial portion of each bracket pair. An aperture is formed in theelongated clip allowing a conductor extending through the aperture inthe housing and the resilient members to pass through the clip. In thisembodiment, the clip provides strain relief to the conductor.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the fiberoptic andcopper conductors, each have an end disposed in the housing terminatingin a first electrical connector. A plurality of conductors extend fromthe copper/fiber converters, each terminating in a second connector. Aplurality of third connectors are mounted in the housing forinterconnecting one first connector and one second connector.Preferably, the third connectors are arranged in a plurality of groupsin the housing, one group exclusively receiving the connectors on thecopper conductors and one group exclusively receiving the connectors onthe fiberoptic conductors. According to another unique aspect of theinvention, a barrier is mounted within the housing dividing the housinginto two separate compartments. The third connectors are preferablymounted on the barrier.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a printed circuitboard is mounted in the housing and carries conductive traces. Theconductive traces complete an electrical circuit between input powerconnections and each converter. Preferably, connectors are carried onthe printed circuit board each in electrical connection with oneconductive trace and receive one converter in a snap-in connection.According to this aspect of the invention, an aperture is formed in theprinted circuit board having opposed side edges. The connectors aremounted on one side edge of the printed circuit board and receive oneend portion of one converter therein.

The power connection means preferably comprises at least one powersupply and a plurality of circuit breakers mounted in the housing andelectrically coupled to the traces on the printed circuit board. Onecircuit breaker connector is connected by one conductive trace on theprinted circuit board to one power conductor. Another circuit breaker isconnected between the at least one power supply and one conductive traceon the printed circuit board.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the at least onepower supply is mounted on the printed circuit board which is fixedlysupported in the housing. A heat sink is coupled to the one power supplyand is disposed in heat transfer communication with one wall of thehousing.

In another aspect of the invention, an auxiliary housing is providedwith a rack support bracket for receiving a rack mountable electricaldevice. According to this aspect, the auxiliary housing is fixedlyjoined to the main housing and has an aperture disposed in communicationwith at least one aperture in one wall of the main housing for thepassage of electrical conductors between the main housing and theauxiliary housing.

Also according to this aspect, a DC to AC converter circuit is mountedin the auxiliary housing. A conductor passes from the main housing tothe auxiliary housing for connecting DC input power to the DC to ACconverter. An output of the converter providing AC power in theauxiliary housing and may optionally be connected to a convention outletmounted in the auxiliary housing.

According to another aspect of the invention, a barrier is mountedwithin the housing and divides the housing into two separatecompartments. Separate doors are pivotally mounted on the housing toprovide separate access to the compartments within the housing.

The communications cabinet of the present invention provides manyadvantages over previously devised communication cabinets providinginterconnections between copper conductors, fiberoptic conductors andcopper/fiber converters. According to one unique aspect of theinvention, a printed circuit board carrying conductive traces providesprewired connections between plug-in circuit breakers, plug-inconverters and electrical conductors passing through apertures in thehousing. This eliminates a substantial portion of the separate wirespreviously employed in similar communication cabinets between thecircuit breakers, converters and external conductors.

Further, the unique sealable access means provides a sealed entrance ofelectrical conductors or cables through apertures in the housing whileat the same time enabling the connectors at the end of the cable orconductors to be completely disposed within the housing therebyprotecting the connectors from external damage as frequently occurs withpreviously devices communication cabinets having the cable and conductorterminating connectors mounted on the exterior of the housing.

The provision of the add-on auxiliary housing also provides uniqueadvantages insofar as enabling rack mounted devices, such as hubs,routers or data switches to be coupled to the power conductors in themain housing. A DC to AC inverter mounted in the housing or auxiliaryhousing enables 110/120 VAC power to be provided in the auxiliaryhousing for the rack mounted devices without requiring a separate110/120 volt AC input conductor having to be run to the communicationscabinet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The various features, advantages and other uses of the present inventionwill become more apparent by referring to the following detaileddescription and drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a prior art communications, cabinet;

FIG. perspective view of the prior art communication cabinet shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a communications cabinet according tothe present invention with the doors in a closed position;

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the interior of the communicationscabinet shown in FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are perspective views of the cable seal means of thepresent invention depicted in open and sealing positions, respectively;

FIGS. 5C and 5D are prespective views of alternate aspects of clipsemployed with the cable sealing means shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B;

FIG 6 is a perspective view of the interior barrier with fiberoptic andcopper connects;

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of the interior of the cabinet;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the component wiring in the cabinet;

FIG. 9 is perspective view of the printed circuit board showing themounting of the power supply;

FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view showing the circuit breakers andconverters;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a copper/fiber converter;

FIG. 12 is a partially enlarged perspective view depicting the mountingof the converters in plugs on the printed circuit board;

FIG. 13 is a partial plan view of the printed circuit board showing theribbon connectors; and

FIG. 14 is a partially broken away, front elevational view showing anoptional, auxiliary extention cabinet according to the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIGS. 3-13, there is depicted preferred aspects of amulti-purpose communication cabinet or enclosure 60 of the presentinvention.

The cabinet 60 is a standard NEMA cabinet having a top wall 62, a bottomwall 64, opposed side walls 66 and 68, a back wall 70 and a front wall72 generally in the form of a peripheral flange extendingperpendicularly to the top wall 62, the bottom wall 64 and the sidewalls 66 and 68. The front wall 72 also includes an intermediate flange74 which forms a large aperture 76 and a smaller aperture 78 in thefront wall 72 opening to the interior of the cabinet 60.

A pair of hinged doors 80 and 82, each with locks 84, are hingedlyattached to the front wall 72 on opposite sides of the cabinet 60 forpivotally closing the apertures 76 and 78 in the front wall 72.

A raised flange 86 surrounds each aperture 76 and 78 and extendsgenerally perpendicular to the front wall 72. The flange 86 is engagablewith a seal 88 mounted on the interior surface of each door 80 and 82for sealingly closing the apertures 76 and 78 when the doors 80 and 82are in the closed position.

As shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7, a barrier or divider 90 is mountedinternally within the cabinet 60 and extends between the top wall 62 andthe bottom wall 64. The barrier is spaced a short distance from the sidewall 66 to divide the interior of the cabinet 60 into two separatecompartments, each individually accessible through the apertures 76 and78, respectively, in the front wall 72 and the doors 80 and 82.

External elements are provided on the cabinet 60 for the passage ofconductors into or out of the cabinet 60 as well as providing a mountingsurface for indicators to monitor the status of various componentswithin the cabinet 60.

A plurality of indicators 94, such as LEDs, are mounted on a printedcircuit board attached to a mounting plate 96 affixed to the bottom wall64 of the cabinet 60 or mounted directly to the bottom wall 64. Asdescribed hereafter, the indicators or LEDs 94 are connected to variouscomponents in the cabinet 60 and provide an indication of the operativestatus of such components.

As shown in FIG. 3, and in greater detail in FIGS. 5A and 5B, sealableaccess means are provided in the cabinet 60, preferably along the sidewall 66 for sealably controlling access to the interior of the cabinet60, and more specifically, to the smaller internal compartment formedbetween the barrier 90 and the side wall 66. By way of example only,three sealable access means 98, 100, and 102 are provided in the cabinet60 and respectively alignable with apertures 104, 106 and 108 formed inthe side wall 66 of the cabinet 60. Preferably, the apertures 104, 106and 108 are in the form of elongated slots having rounded or squareends, by example only.

As the sealable access means 98, 100 and 102 are substantiallyidentically constructed, the following detailed description of thesealable access means 98, shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, will be understoodto apply equally to the other access means 100 and 102. As shown inFIGS. 5A and 5B, the sealable access means 98 includes first and secondangle brackets 110 and 112, each having a first leg 114 adjustablymountable on the side wall 66 of the cabinet 60 by means of a nut andbolt extending through the side wall 66 and a slot 118 in the first leg114. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, a pair of slots 118 are spaced atopposite ends of the first leg 114, with each slot 118 receiving afastener 120. Each angle bracket 110 and 112 also includes a second leg116 which extends generally perpendicularly from one edge of the firstleg 114. A seal member, such as a neoprene gland 122 and 124, is mountedon each second leg 116, by an adhesive, for example. Each gland 122 and124 may be formed of a single resilient seal member or a pair of sealmembers, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, which are adhesively joinedtogether to form a single gland on each second leg 116.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the glands 122 and 124 are resilient enough tocompress and sealingly close about the outer sheath 126 of amulti-conductor cable 127, such as a multi-conductor fiber optic cable127, described in greater detail hereafter. When a single cable 127 isinserted between the glands 122 and 124 which are initially spaced apartin an open position as shown in FIG. 5A, and then urged toward eachother until the glands 122 and 124 engage and are fixed in place by thefasteners 120, as shown in FIG. 5B, the glands 122 and 124 form asealing closed surface about substantially the entire exterior surfaceof the sheath 126 of the cable 127.

Besides providing a sealing function, the glands 122 and 124 alsoprovide a strain relief function since the outer sheath 126 of themulticonductor cable 127 can be fully inserted through the engagedglands 122 and 124 and then removed from the ends of the conductors 128in the cable 127 only on the portion of the conductors 128 disposedwithin the interior of the cabinet 60. This eliminates the need forexternal connectors, such as the external fiberoptic connectors or jacks30 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIGS. 5C and 5D depict clips which can be mounted over the glands 122and 124 when the glands are in the closed position to forcibly hold theglands 122 and 124 together tightly about the cable 127 extendingtherethrough. In one aspect of the invention, an elongated clip 220 isformed with a central end wall 222 and a pair of opposed side walls 224.The spacing between the side walls 224 as well as the height orextension of each side wall 224 from the central end wall 222 isselected to enable the clip 220 to be tightly mounted over the glands122 and 124 and the adjacent legs 116 of the angle brackets 110 and 112when the glands 122 and 124 are in the closed position shown in FIG. 5C.The clip 220 thus functions to forcibly hold the glands 122 and 124together about the multiconductor cable 127 extending through the glands122 and 124.

An elongated aperture 226, preferably in the form of an elongated slot,is formed in the central end wall 222 and provides a passage for thecable 127. The aperture 226 and the surrounding portions of the centralend wall 222 of the clip 220 serve as a strain relief for the cable 127.It will be understood that the single elongated slot 226 may be replacedby two or more smaller length slots or circular apertures, eachreceiving a separate cable 127 extending through the engaged glands 122and 124.

FIG. 5D depicts an alternate aspect of a clip 230 in which a shorterlength clip 230 is formed with a central end wall 232 and a pair ofopposed side walls 234. The clip 230 is preferably designed for use in aset if two or more clips 230 mounted at opposite ends or along thelength of the joined glands 122 and 124 and the legs 116 of the anglebrackets 110 and 112 to tightly hold the glands 122 and 124 together.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a wire wheel 132 is optionally provided foreach multiconductor cable 127. Each wire wheel 132 is of conventionalconstruction and includes a central base which is fixedly mounted on aback plate 134 spaced by means of standoffs or studs mounted on the backwall 70 of the cabinet 60. Each wire wheel 132 includes a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced wire clips 136 which enable the conductors 128from each multiconductor cable 127 to be wound in a circular arrangementabout one wire wheel 132 to provide strain relief and wire managementwithin the cabinet 60.

It should be understood that although a wire wheel 132 is preferred foreach cable 127 mounted through one of the access controlling means 98,100 and 102, it is also possible, within the scope of the presentinvention, to eliminate the wire wheel 132 for any or all of themulticonductor cables 127.

As shown in FIGS. 4, 6, and 7, 48 VDC receptacle 92 is mounted in thebarrier 90. The receptacle provides a connection for a plug, not shown,at one end of a cable carrying 48 VDC power which passes through one ofthe sealable access means 98, 100 or 102. A separate cable and plug maybe mounted on the opposite end of the receptacle 92 in the largercompartment and connected to one of the circuit breakers 162 or wireddirectly, without a plug to the circuit breaker 162.

As also shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7, a plurality of groups or sets 140,142 and 144 of individual connectors are mounted on the barrier 90 toprovide communication between the two interior compartments within thecabinet 60. The connectors of each group 140, 142 and 144 may be of anyconventional fiberoptic or copper wire connector and may be provided inany number, combination, etc. within each group. Thus, by way of exampleonly, the first and second groups 140 and 142 of connectors arefiberoptic connectors, such as standard “ST” or “SC” connectors 146. Theconnectors 146, as is conventional, are available in multiples of threeon a removable plate which is secured by means of fasteners to thebarrier 90 on opposite sides of an aperture formed in the barrier 90 forreceiving the group of connectors 140 or 142 therethrough. Since it isconceivable that a fiber converter with one type of connector will haveto be joined to an external cable terminated with a different type ofconnector, the six-pack fiber adapter panels are available in differentconnector configurations, such as duplex, feed-through connectors of a“ST” to “ST”, “ST” to “SC”, or “SC” to “SC” configuration. In use, eachconductor 128 in each multiple conductor cable 127 is terminated with asuitable fiber “SC” or “ST” connector and plugged in to one of theconnectors 146. Another “SC” or “ST” connector, attached to a separatefiberoptic conductor will be connected to the opposed connector of eachfeed through connector 146 to provide connection to an individualfiber/copper converter, as described hereafter.

The third group 144 of connectors, in the present embodiment, is in theform a standard RJ45, category 5 jack mounted in a suitable receptacleattached to a plate affixed to the barrier 90 as shown in FIG. 6. Forexample, a standard wall plate could be installed in the barrier 90 anddesigned to accept either a Keystone-style feed-through coupler or aKeystone-style outlet jack. Both the coupler or jack 148 receive aport-terminated connection from individual copper wires extending toeach copper/fiberoptic converter, as described hereafter.

Referring now to FIG. 9, there is depicted D.C. converters or powersupplies 150 and 152, respectively, which are connected to the 48 VCreceptacle 92 and convert the incoming 48 VDC power to 24 VCC and 12 VDCpower to power a radio and the copper/fiber converters, as describedhereafter. Each power supply 150 and 152 also drives certain LEDs 94 toindicate the presence of 48 volt power from the 48 VDC receptacle 92 aswell as a power on condition through a first circuit breaker as alsodescribed hereafter.

Each power supply 150 and 152 is mounted on a heat sink surface 154,such as an aluminum plate 154. A heat sensitive adhesive is applied tothe exterior surface of the plate 154 for bonding and mounting the plate154 to the back wall 70 of the cabinet 60. This mounting arrangementmakes the back wall 70 of the cabinet 60 function as a heat sink todissipate heat from the power supplies 150 and 152.

Each of the power supplies 150 and 152 has external leads, not shown,which are soldered or otherwise electrically connected to an input powerterminal or pad 156, shown in FIG. 8, on a printed circuit board 158shown in FIGS. 7, 9 and 10. Soldered wires 153 extend from the 48 VDCreceptacle 92 and the input power terminal or pad 156. Also not shown isa resilient support, such as a neoprene mounting pad, which is disposedbeneath an aperture 160 in the printed circuit board 158 for supportingthe copper/fiber converters on the back wall of the cabinet 60.

A circuit diagram of the electrical wiring between the variouscomponents mounted in the communications cabinet 60 is shown in FIG. 8.As shown therein, substantially all of the wiring is in the form ofconductive traces formed in the surface of the printed circuit board158. Each conductive trace extends between terminal pads on the printedcircuit board 158 which provide an electrical connection point tovarious electrical components, such as the power supplies 152 and 158,the input power terminal 156 and other components described hereafter.

As shown in FIGS. 6, 7, 8 and 10, a plurality of circuit breakers 162,163 and 164 are mounted in a bracket 166. The circuit breakers 162, 163and 164 are, for example, single pole, series trip, magnetic-type DCcircuit breakers which have a substantially instantaneous response.Preferably, the circuit breakers 162, 163 and 164 are panel mountable,rocker switch-type breakers with tab terminations. The circuit breaker162 is the main circuit breaker for the electrical components mountedwithin the cabinet 60 and is connected between the input power terminal156 and the power supplies 150 and 152. A reverse polarity protectiondiode 168 is connected in series between the circuit breaker 162 and onelead of the power terminal 156.

The circuit breaker 163 is connected between the output of the powersupply 150 and the 24 VDC radio power terminal 170, shown in FIG. 8. Aplurality of the circuit breakers 164 are mounted in the bracket 166 andare each connected to one individual copper/fiber converter 180.

The tab terminations of the circuit breakers 162, 163 and 164 aremounted in a pair of tubular fast-on connectors which are soldered orotherwise mounted on the printed circuit board 158 so as to receive eachcircuit breaker 162, 163 and 164 in a snap-in mount.

The bracket 166 is formed with a raised end portion 172 having a lowerlip which includes apertures for receiving fasteners to mount one end ofthe bracket 166 to the printed circuit board 158. An elongated apertureis formed in the upper wall of the raised end 172 for allowing access tothe rocker switch on each circuit breaker 162, 162 and 164.

An opposite end of the mounting bracket 166 projects outwardly from thelower edge of the raised end 172 to an end which is mounted by means offasteners to the printed circuit board 158.

A stud with a threaded bore is mounted on the lower end portion 174 ofthe mounting bracket 166 by means of a fastener 175 extending throughthe lower end portion 174. The stud is alignable with an aperture in oneend of a mounting strap 176 which extends to an opposite end alsoalignable with a threaded stud mounted on the printed circuit board 158.The strap 176 is used to releasibly secure the copper-fiber converters180 in position relative to the printed circuit board 158.

As shown in FIGS. 8, 10 and 12, barrel plugs 182 labeled J2, J4, . . .J24 in the circuit diagram of FIG. 8, are soldered or otherwise mountedon the printed circuit board 158 adjacent to one edge of the aperture160. The end portion of each barrel plug 182 extends into the aperture160 and is releasibly engagable with a mating receptacle in thecopper-fiber converters 180 to both mount one end of the converters 180on the printed circuit board 158 as well as providing a 12 VDC powersupply to each converter 180.

Each copper/fiber converter 180 is designed to provide a connection andelectrical communication between copper electrical conductors and afiberoptic conductors. By way of example, a typical converter 180 whichmay be employed in the cabinet 60 is a 10 base T-FL Converter, Model No.N-10 TFL twisted pair/fiber converter sold by Netrix Technologies, Inc.,Livonia, Mich. This converter 180 has a plurality of LED statusindicators for installation and trouble shooting purposes. A standardRJ45 jack 184 provides a connection to a mating plug attached to the endof a copper wire conductor. A pair of outwardly extending terminals 186and 188 provide electrical connection to and electrical communication tofiberoptic conductors having suitable end terminations or plugs andwhich are connected to the group of connectors 140 and 142 mounted onthe barrier 90.

Although not shown in the drawings, individual fiberoptic conductors 128having suitable “ST” or “SC” end connections mounted in one of theconnectors in the group of connectors 140 and 142 on the barrier 90 arewound around a wire spooler in the form of a pair of spaced, arcuatewire guides 190 mounted by means of adhesive or suitable fasteners tothe lower end portion 174 of the circuit breaker mounting bracket 166.Each fiberoptic conductor 128 extends from the wire guide 190 to a wireguide strip 192 which is mounted by means of a threaded studs andfasteners to the lower end portion 174 of the bracket 166 and theprinted circuit board 158. Individual wire clips 194 are mounted on thewire guide 192 and receive individual fiberoptic conductors 128 whichare then connected to one of the terminals 186 or 188 on a converter180.

Although not shown in the drawings, a similar wire spooler formed of apair of spaced wire guide arms 190 may be mounted on a lower portion ofthe printed circuit board 158 for winding the plurality of copperelectrical conductors extending from the connectors 148 in the thirdgroup of connectors 144 on the barrier 90 and suitable plug terminationsconnected to a jack 184 on a converter 180.

Referring again to FIGS. 3, 8 and 13, the LEDs 94 are mounted on a smallprinted circuit board, not shown, having a ribbon connector connected bya ribbon cable 196 to a similar ribbon connector 198 mounted on theprinted circuit board 158. Individual conductive traces on the printedcircuit board 158 are connected to various terminal pins of the ribbonconnector 198 to connect each LED 94 to various portions of the circuitto provide status and monitoring information for various components ofthe circuit. For example, one LED 40, such as a blue LED, is connectedto the main 48 VDC input power terminal 156 to provide an indication of48 volts “in” condition. Another LED 40, such as a green LED, isconnected to the output of the circuit breaker 162 to indicate a power“on” condition within the cabinet 60.

A yellow LED 40, for example, is connected to the output of the 24 VDCpower supply 150 to provide an indication of the presence of 24 VDC. Theremaining LEDs 40, which may be red LEDs, provide an indication of 12VDC through each circuit breaker 164 to the copper/fiber converter 180.

FIG. 13 also shows a second ribbon connector 200 mounted on the printedcircuit board 158. As shown in FIGS. 6, 4, a ribbon cable 202 having asuitable plug is connected at one end to the connector 200 and at anopposite end to a similar connector which is mounted in a dataacquisition unit (DAU) 204. The data acquisition unit 204 which can bemounted in any suitable location within the interior of the cabinet 60,and provides an interface to provide status to an exterior LAN fornetwork administration. Various parts of the circuit within the cabinet60 or a component connected to the connector 200 by the conductivetraces on the printed circuit board 158 may be output to the DAU 204 fortransmission to an external control to monitor the status of componentswithin the cabinet 60 and/or systems controlled by the circuitry andcomponents within the cabinet 60.

As shown in FIG. 4, a radio or wireless transmitter 206 is mounted onthe inside surface, by example only, of the large door 80. The radio 206is connected by a cable 208 to a plug 210 mounted on the LED mountingplate. An antenna may be connected to the connector 210 (see FIG. 3) soas to be able to transmit and receive information from externalscanners.

FIG. 12 depicts an optional terminal connection for connecting 12 VDCpower from the circuit breaker 164 to different type of copper/fiberconverters. In this embodiment, a two-terminal pair 212 is mounted onthe printed circuit board 158 adjacent to the barrel plugs 182. Theterminal pair 212 comprises conventional terminals for receiving a pairof wires, not shown, one of which terminates in a plug connectable to amating receptacle in a different style fiber/copper converter mountablein clips affixed to a plate extending over the aperture 160 in theprinted circuit board 158 and wires extending to the LEDs 40. In use,the individual converters are removed and a plate, not shown, is affixedto the printed circuit board 158 by threaded studs mounted on thecircuit breaker housing 166 and a bottom portion of the printed circuitboard 158. Individual U-shaped spring clips are mounted on the plate forreceiving individual converters.

Several optional aspects of the present invention are also shown in FIG.14. An auxiliary, optional, extension cabinet or enclosure 250 isdepicted mounted adjacent to the bottom wall 70 of the cabinet 60. Forclarity, only portions of the bottom wall 70 of the cabinet 60 aredepicted in FIG. 14.

According to this aspect of the present invention, the extension cabinet250 is formed with four peripheral side walls, three side walls 252 ofwhich are closed or solid, and a fourth wall 254 which defines anopening to the interior of the extension cabinet 250. A door 256 ishinged to the extension cabinet 250 and pivotally covers the open sidewall 254. The extension cabinet 250 also includes a rear wall 258 and anopposed front peripheral flange 260 extending about the entire peripheryof the extension cabinet 250 and disposed adjacent to the bottom wall 70of the cabinet 60.

A plurality of mounting tabs 262 are removably attachable to the rearwall 258 of the extension cabinet 250 by means of fasteners which extendthrough aligned apertures in each tab 262 and in a corner of the rearwall 258 of the extension cabinet 250. Each tab 262 includes anotheraperture which can receive a fastener for securing the extension cabinet250 to a support.

It will be understood that the mounting tabs 262 are also usable withthe communications cabinet 60 when the communications cabinet 60 ismounted to a support without the extension cabinet 250. The mountingtabs 262 are removably attachable to the bottom wall 70 of thecommunications cabinet 60 in the same manner as described above by meansof fasteners. In this manner, the same mounting tabs 262 used to mountthe communications cabinet 60 to a support may also be used to mount thecommunications cabinet 60 and the extension cabinet 250 to the samesupport when the extension cabinet 250 is added to a previously mountedcommunications cabinet 60.

The extension cabinet 250 is fixedly joined to the communicationscabinet 60 by means of fasteners, such as nuts and bolts, extendingthrough the aligned apertures in the comers of the bottom wall 70 of thecabinet 60 and corresponding apertures formed at the peripheral cornersof the flange 260 on the extension cabinet 250.

Communication for the passage of cables or electrical conductors betweenthe extension cabinet 250 and the communications cabinet 60 is providedby a large aperture 264 which is surrounded by the peripheral flange 260in the extension cabinet 250. This aperture 264 which opens to theinterior of the extension cabinet 250 communicates with a plurality ofsmaller apertures 266 formed along one side edge of the bottom wall 70of the communications cabinet 60.

A separate aperture 268 located at the opposite end of the bottom wall70 of the cabinet 60 also provides communication to the interior of theextension cabinet 250. This aperture 268 is used, according to oneaspect of the present invention, for the passage of a cable carrying 48VDC power from the smaller compartment in the cabinet 60 to theextension cabinet 250.

As noted above, a input cable carrying 48 VDC passes through one of thesealable glands 98, 100 or 102 and is connected internally within thecabinet 60 to the receptacle 92. A separate plug and conductor isconnected to the opposite end of the receptacle 92 in the largecompartment in the cabinet 60 to provide power to the power supplies 150and 152. Optionally, a separate connection can be provided to anotherplug receptacle mounted on the barrier 90 for returning 48 VDC power tothe smaller compartment in the cabinet 60. A cable plugged into theoptional receptacle can then pass through the aperture 268 in the bottomwall 70 in the cabinet 60 into the interior of the extension cabinet250.

AC power is provided in the cabinet 250 by a DC to AC converter, such asan inverter 246 which is mounted on the rear wall 258 of the cabinet250. The inverter 246 may be any suitable inverter which is capable ofconverting 48 VDC to 110/120 VAC. By example only, the inverter 246 is amodified sine inverter. In addition to supplying 110 VAC power directlyto the rack mounted units, AC power is also supplied to a duplexreceptacle 248 also mounted on the rear wall 258 of the cabinet 250. Anyof the rack mounted units mounted in the extension cabinet 250 can bedirectly plugged into the outlet 248.

A pair of mounting rack brackets 270, generally in the form of 90° angleirons, have one leg fixedly secured, such as by welding for example, toan inside surface of one of the side walls 252 of the extension cabinet250. The other leg of each bracket 270 projects perpendicularly from theside wall 252 and carries a plurality of spaced apertures 272.

The mounting brackets 270 and the apertures 272 provide a mountingsurface for a flange on a rack mountable unit or device 274, such as anetwork switch, hub, etc. Such a device 274 can be inserted through theopen end 254 of the extension cabinet 250, after the door 256 has beenpivoted to the open position, and then securely attached to the mountingbrackets 270. A conventional plug attached to such a rack mounted device274 can be plugged into the duplex outlet 248 to receive 110 VAC powerfrom the inverter 246.

The inverter 246 provides several advantages to the communicationscabinet 60 of the invention. First, only low voltage DC power issupplied to the cabinet 60 thereby eliminating a separate feed for anincoming 110 VAC line. This cleans up the power cable distribution andenables the low voltage DC power conductor or cable to be merelydisposed in an open cable tray with other conductors and not in aseparate conduit as is required by NEC standards.

Although the provision of the rack mounting bracket 270, the duplexoutlet 248 and the DC to AC converter 246, have been described as beingmounted in the separate auxiliary housing 240 mountable to and disposedin conductor communication with the main housing 60, it will beunderstood that the main housing or cabinet 60 could be simply madelarger for mounting of the rack mounting bracket 270, the converter 246,and the duplex outlet 248 in a single larger housing 60. However, theuse of an auxiliary housing for the rack mounted devices, converter andduplex outlet is preferred as the rack mounted devices may be providedafter assembly and installation of a standard sized communicationscabinet 60.

Although all of the features or aspects of the present communicationscabinet 60, including, but not limited to, the two compartment housingor cabinet 60, the sealable access means in the cabinet 60 for receivingcopper, fiberoptic and power conductors or cables, the preprintedcircuit board 158 providing prewired connections between the connectorpatch field and individual circuit breakers 164, LEDs, etc., aredescribed as being provided in the cabinet 60, it will be understoodthat each of these features may be used separately or in variouscombinations as part of the present invention. Thus, the presentinvention will be understood to include each described aspect or featureas a separate aspect of the invention as well as in combination with oneor more other features.

In summary, there has been disclosed a unique communications cabinetwhich simplifies the construction and wiring of interconnections betweencopper conductors and fiberoptic conductors, circuit breakers andindicator devices. The communication cabinet of the present inventionalso includes an on-board inverter for generating 110 VAC power from anincoming 48 DC line to simplify power cable distribution to thecommunication cabinet.

What is claimed is:
 1. A communications cabinet providing connectionsbetween fiberoptic conductors and copper conductors and copper/fiberconverters, the communications cabinet comprising: a housing havingwalls, one wall having at least one aperture; the copper/fiberopticconverters mounted in the housing; and sealable access members, mountedon the housing adjacent to the one aperture and movable relative to eachother between a first spaced-apart position allowing passage of at leastone of fiberoptic conductors and copper conductors through the oneaperture in the wall of the housing, and a second closed position whenthe sealable access members sealingly enclose the passage at least oneof the fiberoptic conductors and the copper conductors through the oneaperture in the wall of the housing.
 2. The communications cabinet ofclaim 1 further comprising: a clip mountable over the sealable accessmembers when the sealable access members are in the second closedposition to forcibly retain the sealable access members in the closedposition.
 3. The communications cabinet of claim 2 wherein the clipcomprises a pair of clips attachable at spaced portions of the sealableaccess members.
 4. The communications cabinet of claim 2 wherein theclip comprises: an elongated clip extending over a substantial portionof the sealable access members; and an aperture formed in the clipallowing the at least one of the fiberoptic and the copper conductorsextending through the aperture in the housing and the sealable accessmembers to pass through the clip.
 5. A communications cabinet providingconnections between fiberoptic conductors and copper conductors andcopper/fiber converters, the communications cabinet comprising: ahousing having walls, one wall having at least one aperture; thecopper/fiberoptic converters mounted in the housing; and sealable accessmembers, mounted on the housing, sealingly enclosing the passage offiberoptic conductors and copper conductors through the aperture in thewall of the housing, the sealable access means including; a pair ofbrackets; and a pair of resilient members, each carried on one of thebrackets and facing an opposed resilient member, the resilient membersand the brackets movable relative to each other between a first spacedapart position allowing passage of an electrical conductor through theaperture into the interior of the housing, and a second closed positionwherein the resilient members sealingly encompass substantially theentire peripheral surface of the conductor.
 6. The communicationscabinet of claim 5 further comprising: a clip mountable over thebrackets and the resilient members when the brackets and the resilientmembers are in the second closed position to forcibly retain thebrackets and the resilient members in the closed position.
 7. Thecommunications cabinet of claim 6 wherein the clip comprises a pair ofclips attachable at spaced portions of the brackets and the resilientmembers.
 8. The communications cabinet of claim 6 wherein the clipcomprises: an elongated clip extending over a substantial portion of thebrackets and the resilient members; and an aperture formed in the clipallowing a conductor extending through the aperture in the housing andthe resilient members to pass through the clip.